Throughout its history, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has promoted business and economic development. The Chamber’s first referendum in January 1913 called for national budget planning. This call for a national budget created the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. From that point on, the Chamber worked to assist the U.S. government during both World Wars and the Great Depression. In the 1960s, the Chamber was thinking differently about the business community. However, they did not have a world war to wage against crime and poverty.
During the oil crisis of 1973, the Chamber pushed for the expansion of domestic production. This included oil and gas exploration as well as coal mining and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. In 1981, the Chamber launched the “Rebuild America” campaign to help support President Reagan’s Economic Recovery and Tax Act. With the rise of globalization in the 1990s, the Chamber promoted increased opportunities for exporting American goods and services, hoping to create jobs for Americans.
While the various chambers of commerce may work with all levels of government, they tend to focus their efforts on specific levels: local chambers of commerce tend to focus on local issues, state chambers on state issues, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on national issues. at the federal government level. They also work closely with a number of youth organizations across the country on the importance and role of business in our modern society.
In 1993, the Chamber lost several members because of their support for Clinton’s health care reform. At the time, the Chamber decided to support health care reform because of the dramatic increase in health care costs faced by its members. However, House Republicans responded by calling for a boycott of the organization. By the time health care reform became a serious issue again in 2010-2012, the organization had opposed such efforts.
Although the Chamber claims to represent more than 3 million American companies, according to data, 94% of its revenue comes from about 1,500 large companies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce building at 1615 H Street NW in Washington, DC
At the end of 2011, it was reported that from November 2009 to May 2010, Chinese hackers had hacked into the Chamber’s computer system. It appears that the purpose of the breach was to obtain information related to the Chamber’s lobbying on Asian trade policy.
Since Lewis Powell’s 1971 internal memo advocating a more active role in cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Chamber has been increasingly successful in litigation. In the Berger and Rehnquist Courts, the Chamber prevailed in 43% and 56% of cases, respectively, but in the Roberts Court, the Chamber’s success rate increased to 68% as of June 21, 2012.
During the 2008 election cycle, aggressive ads paid for by the USCC attacked a number of Democratic congressional candidates (such as Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken) and supported a number of Republican candidates, including John Sununu, Gordon Smith, Roger Wicker, Saxby Chambliss, and Elizabeth Dole.
The Chamber of Commerce has been an opponent of the Obama administration during the eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
During the 2010 election cycle, the Chamber spent $32 million, 93 percent of which went to Republican candidates. The Chamber’s spending from its general funds has been criticized as illegal under campaign finance laws. In a front-page article titled “Big Donations Help U.S. Chamber in Election,” The New York Times reported that the Chamber used campaign contributions without separating foreign and domestic contributions, which, if true, would violate prohibitions on lobbying by foreign states and groups. This includes the Chamber’s international chapters, AmChams, whose funds are not accounted for and may be mixed with the general collection. All Chamber branches, corporations, and members pay dues; the question is how they divide the money for spending in national campaigns.